Sleepover
by I want George
Summary: COMPLETE. NS fluff. You’re invited! When: tonight. Where: LVPD break room. Time: 12 midnight, ‘til whenever Nick and Sara realise they were meant for each other...
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I'm _slowly_ easing back into the writing thing, so work with me here! Dedicated to DarkDreamer56, just because she's lovely. :)

* * *

It was a rather mentally drained Nick Stokes that passed, slightly aimlessly, through the DNA lab on a quiet Monday evening. He'd been at work for over thirteen straight hours, and hadn't left the crime lab building once. Results from his current case were still pending, and, despite his regular check-ups, it seemed that constantly questioning the frazzled tech was not the way to hurry his current case lead along. Tired as he was, he wasn't really in the mood to go home and spend another night alone; after the events of the summer, he'd practically spent more hours napping in the break room than he had in his own bed. 

This did not go unnoticed by his co-workers, but they didn't push him; when Nick wanted to open up, he would, and in the mean time, he seemed to be coping, so they let it go. As his therapy progressed, they were sure that he'd be okay eventually, and in the mean time, they were going to support him in whatever way they could.

Nick waltzed through the DNA lab and into A/V, where a cringingly perky Archie waved enthusiastically as he walked past. Making his way down to Ballistics, if only for something to do, his path crossed Warrick's, who smiled wearily at him.

"Hey, man."

Nick grinned good-naturedly. "Long day?"

"Just getting off a double, and, whoa, am I _exhausted_." He exhaled noisily. "Surprisingly quiet night, actually – Griss let Catherine off early, and I'm thinking I might stop off for dinner with Tina before I crash."

Nick nodded, glancing behind Warrick. "Anyone else around?" The hallways were, apart from the hum of electronics on either side, almost silent.

"Uh, Grissom's still in his office, doing one of his bug things for that Clayton guy from days… who's talking to Bobby, I think. Other than that, the place is pretty quiet. Oh, and I think Sara's here, taking a 'break', if I dare use the word in a sentence about her." The two exchanged a smirk. "Probably reviewing her case file."

A smile began to creep further across Nick's face, and he suddenly knew exactly where he was going. "Cool. A'ight, man, have a good night." He patted his friend on the shoulder as they went their separate ways.

* * *

Sara was deep in thought, her finger tapping her pen as she pored over her file, and didn't even look up from her pages of notes when she heard the break room door click open. She only finally managed to pry her eyes away from the case photo she'd been examining when a warmly familiar voice across the room addressed her. 

"And _hey_ to you, too, Sara." Even Nick's obvious fatigue couldn't mask the playful quality his voice always maintained.

She looked up, grinning sheepishly at him. "Oh, I'm sorry. Clayton has been in here at least half a dozen times tonight, asking me if I want coffee, or a soda, or dinner, and eventually I figured it most polite to ignore anyone who walked through the door." She paused, then smiled sweetly. "Hey."

Returning her grin, Nick moved around the bench top, making coffee for himself. "You're not on call tonight?"

"Nope. And, maxed out on overtime, so I thought I might as well put my time stuck in here to good use. My body clock is so messed up that I won't be able to sleep for at least another eight hours, anyway." She finally closed her case file, placing it on the table in front of her and smoothing out her hair. "What about you?"

"Very quiet night, actually. My overtime's pretty much up, too, and the only thing I can work on with my case involved a set of DNA results that, according to Mr. Happy at the lab, won't be done until morning."

Sara nodded understandingly. "So why don't you go home?" An awkward look spread across Nick's face, and she instantly wished she could take her question back. She forced a gentle smile instead. "Okay, that was _really_ hypocritical of me."

Nick chuckled. "I wasn't gonna say anything, but…"

Scraping her chair back, Sara walked over to the fridge beside Nick, her brow furrowing as she studied its contents. "There is _no_ food in here."

"What, maggots not your thing?"

She smirked, her head still poked inside. "I'm just grateful that you're kidding… _this_ time." She sighed, pushing the door closed and crossing the room to the TV. "You wanna watch something?"

Nick followed her, sitting down on the couch beside her as she grabbed the remote. "I don't think there's much on. I skimmed the TV Guide earlier, and we don't get any decent channels here anyway."

"Yeah… we need to talk to Ecklie about that."

"Agreed." They sat in silence for a moment, as images flicked across the screen. "Do we get any movie channels here?"

"Just one, I think. There's not much on it tonight, though. Well, some movie, _Scream_, or something, is on at midnight, but that's about it."

"Hmmm. I could do _Scream_. I love that movie."

Sara's expression didn't change. "Never seen it." She only drew her eyes away from the TV when Nick nudged her knee with his, his eyes wide.

"_What_?"

"What?"

"You've never seen _Scream_?"

"Nope."

Nick's bewilderment was evident. "God, Sara, where have you been? It's _the _classic '90s horror movie!"

"Well, excuse _me_ for not being up with all your media must-sees." She rolled her eyes jokingly at him, hiding a smile behind her hair.

Nick smirked at her. "That's it. We're watching _Scream_." He raised an eyebrow at Sara's facial expression. "What?"

"Uh, I'm really not that into the whole _horror_ genre. Not a big scary-movie person, really. I saw _The Exorcist_ at a sleepover when I was eleven, and… well, it pretty much put me off horror movies for life. Nightmares." She shrugged.

"Awww, Sara." Nick chuckled as put arm around her shoulder. "You can handle being a CSI, but you can't watch a scary movie?" He squeezed her a little as her face reddened.

She shrugged apologetically again. "Everybody has their something. It's just… I mean, I'm sure I'd be fine… it was years ago, but… y'know…" She drifted off, fiddling with the remote in her hand.

Nick smiled. "You'll be fine. If you don't like it, we'll switch it off, okay? And I'll be right here. A little sleepover of our own, to kick the old sleepover's ass." His face suddenly lit up more than Sara had seen it do for months. "You know what we should do? We should have a sleepover."

Sara burst out laughing. "What are we, in the fifth grade? Are there going to be cookies and pillow fights, too?"

Nick laughed too, shrugging. "Hey, I'm in if you are."

She looked at him disbelievingly. "You're serious?"

"Hell yeah!" He swung his arm up from around her and walked over into the kitchen area. "There's always microwave popcorn in these cupboards, and we have sodas…" He opened one cupboard, gasping dramatically as he turned around, brandishing a squishy plastic package. "And look what I found…"

She blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Marshmallows…?"

Nick groaned in exasperation. "_S'mores_, Sara!" He marvelled at her blank stare. "Did you never go camping as a kid?"

"Uh, no, not really."

"Oh, Sar, you haven't _lived_! If we can locate some graham crackers, and grab a candy bar or two from Greg's not-so-secret stash, we're golden."

A giggle longing to escape Sara danced in her eyes instead as she crossed the room, her voice half teasing Nick, half mocking him. "Well, guess what? I think I have a box of crackers in my locker." His joyous expression was enough to make her splutter with laughter. "Do you realise how pathetic this is?"

"Okay, try telling me it's pathetic _after_ you've had s'mores." He shooed her out the door. "Now, go get your supplies. I'll sort everything out in here."

* * *

Sara burst back into the room a few minutes later, an embarrassinghint of a flushed excitement across her usually pallid complexion, and the small abundance of items in her arms a clear indicator that she'd come back with more than she'd intended to. "Okay, so,I was on my way back, when I realised that the sofa isn't exactly optimum comfort, and I remembered the sleeping bag Grissom shoved in the supplies closet a few summers ago. It looks okay." She placed all her newly found objects on the table as she spoke. "I also grabbed my camera, and a couple magazines I found in my locker, and a flashlight." She looked impressed with herself. 

"Oooh, flashlight, huh? For telling spooky stories?" He narrowed his eyes at he accusingly. "You're even more into this than I am, aren't you?"

"Tell anyone, and you're dead."

"Well, that depends on who wins."

"Wins at _what_?"

"Twister, of course." She looked him in the eye, amused as he tried to hold a straight face, finally losing it and cracking up, leaning on the table. Sara sat down, giggling.

"I thought… you were _serious_." She gestured at the radio on the bench behind him. "By the way, the second you suggest a dance contest, I'm going home."

"Deal." He ripped open the bag of marshmallows he still held in his hand, and gestured for her to join him. "Now… let's get busy."

* * *

**A/N:** Stay tuned for part two, up as soon as I find a perfect procrastinatory moment when I _really_ should be doing something else. :) 


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Claire, if you want to write your own R-rated version of this, you have my _very full_ permission. You are the smut queen, and I bow down to you. Or you could just, y'know, update your _own_ story. :P

Everyone else, thanks so much for the reviews. They made my week. :)

* * *

Sara licked her fingers, sat on the couch inside the sleeping bag she'd insisted on having for the first half of the movie. A plate of s'mores rested on her lap. 

"Nick, I gotta say, you were right; these are _amazing_." She smiled at him as he walked over with his own plate to join her.

"What'd I tell ya? Technically, they're meant to be made with regular, plain chocolate, but, considering our limited resources, our Snickers bar versions aren't bad, huh? Now, provided we can get that microwave cleaned out by morning…"

"Okay, was it _my_ idea to let the marshmallow grow and grow until it exploded all over the inside?" She turned on the sarcasm. "Uh, _no_."

Nick mumbled incoherently, his mouth full of gooey marshmallow and nutty chocolate, and she whacked him lightly on the arm. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that… because I didn't." They both smiled as he swallowed.

"I _said_, I seem to recall you giggling hysterically at the time."

"Okay, _hysterically_ is an exaggeration. Now, you got any more for me?" She gestured at her empty plate.

Nick laughed in amazement. "Sara, your plate was full a minute ago. Didn't you take, like, six?"

A sheepish expression crossed her face. "What? They're really good."

"Indeed they are. The caramel is _amazing_. I might just make 'em this way from now on." He carefully inspected the confectionary in his hands once again before taking another bite, moaning in exaggerated ecstasy as he chewed.

Sara glared at him. "Now you're just being mean." Her left eyebrow flitted up slightly as she tried to hold back a smirk, and, without warning, she stuck her arm out and swiped the last s'more from his plate, cramming the whole thing in her mouth before Nick had time to protest. He quickly swallowed his last bite before turning to her, a look of shock across his face.

"Okay, _so_ not called for."

A giggle escaped her full mouth, and she nodded, chewing away until she finally gulped triumphantly and grinned. "Last time you mess with me, Stokes."

"Well, the joke's on you. You've got chocolate on your face." He suddenly brought his hand up to her face, catching her by surprise as he gently wiped a smear from the corner of her mouth, his fingers cradling her cheek. A feeling of uncertainty came over her, and she smiled shyly in spite of herself.

"Uh, thanks."

Nick "No problem. Now, we've got ten minutes – you wanna go make the popcorn?"

"Sure." Expecting her to shimmy out of the sleeping bag, his brows raised in amusement as Sara stood up, clutching her plate in one hand and the top of the sleeping bag in the other, and hopped across the floor to the bench. She expertly – and one-handedly – located a pack of popcorn, placing it in the microwave and punching the numbers in, before getting two sodas from the fridge. She had just turned around to head back to the couch when she was surprised to see Nick leaning his head against the soft arm of the sofa, chuckling as he watched her.

She smirked. "What?"

"Nothing." He shook his head grinning. "You're so cute."

A slight flush spread over her cheeks, and Sara's didn't answer, as she bounced back to the couch, causing Nick and herself to giggle a little. The popping sound on the other side of the room began to get louder, and Sara stood up and finally climbed out of the sleeping back, unzipping it to its full length before draping it over Nick and the empty spot where she would sit.

"It'll be comfier this way." She felt an explanation was called for, and he nodded approvingly. She passed him his beverage, and left hers on the coffee table before going back to wait on the popcorn, focusing her eyes on the expanding bag as she spoke to Nick across the room.

"So, uh… if I get a little freaked out or whatever, we'll change the channel?" She hated herself for sounding so vulnerable, but the protective tone of Nick's reply found her not minding quite so much.

"Absolutely. There's always something on Discovery." He smiled comfortingly. "Don't worry."

She smiled back as the microwave beeped, and deposited its product into what had become dubbed the lab's 'popcorn bowl'. Switching off the lights on her way back, she made her way back over to the TV, settling herself down under the makeshift blanket and placing the bowl on top, resting on her lap and Nick's.

He looked questioningly at her. "Lights off? That's okay?"

"Yeah. I figure I need the _whole_ experience. Plus, I'm a lights-off kinda girl, anyway." She flashed her gap-tooth grin at him as she popped some kernels into her mouth, and he smirked back at her.

"I assumed you were." He scooted a little closer to her on the couch as he flicked to the correct channel. "Let's go."

* * *

Sara's eyes were wide, and her short-but-still-existent nails dug into Nick's arm, which she'd been gripping tightly since ten minutes into the movie, in between bouts of burying her face in his shoulder, promising herself she wasn't noticing the firmness of the muscle beneath, or the clean, manly scent that lingered on his skin and clothes. The sudden cut to a commercial break provided an appropriate distraction. 

"Jeez, Sara." Nick pried himself away from her, rubbing his arm gently as he winced. "I know this is my left arm and all, but I'd still like a little feeling in it by the end of tonight, if that's okay."

She smiled guiltily. "It's _scary!_"

"Sara, this is pretty tame. Look at how bad the acting is – it's impossible to take seriously."

"Easy for you to say; you've already seen it before."

"You wanna change the channel?"

She looked at him, horrified. "God, no! I have to find out who the mask guy is!"

"O-_kay_…" He took another handful of popcorn, nonchalantly slipping two pieces into Sara's open mouth before placing two in his own, as if it were nothing. Sara felt her heart rate escalate ever so slightly, and they sat in silence for a minute or two, alternately plucking popcorn kernels from the bowl atop their thighs, resting against each other.

The commercials ended, and Sara rested her head against Nick's arm, pulling the sleeping bag further around her left side. She was pleasantly surprised when she felt him lift his arm up entirely and wrap it around her, holding her protectively close to him and resting hand on her shoulder; a seemingly insignificant move that, in the darkness and confinement of their current situation, seemed incredibly intimate. As touched as she was by his sweetness, Sara let a yawn escape her, remembering how tired late-night movies always made her, and thinking how nice it was to have someone to rest her weary body on.

Her tangled train of thought was interrupted by what flashed on the screen before them, and she gasped. Nick's arm squeezed her a little tighter, and his hand found hers underneath the nylon of the sleeping bag. She clutched at it gratefully, and looked into his eyes, smiling.

* * *

Through the blinds of the break room window, Grissom saw that the lights were switched off, but someone was watching TV, and he paused on his way to the lab's garage. He knew Sara was still around, but he assumed she'd be investigating her case, and his curiosity peaked further. Peering through the slats into the room, he could just make out the shapes of two figures huddled under a blanket (was that his sleeping bag? He thought he'd lost that!), watching what appeared to be a horror movie on TV. Removing his glasses and squinting a little, he realised it was Nick and Sara, looking cosier than he would have expected, despite Sara's petrified expression, and Nick's concerned one. He shrugged to himself and carried on, his brows furrowed in thought. Was there something he wasn't being told? 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I always feel so conceited for apologising for not updating – it makes me sound like I expect a horde of neurotic, obsessed readers to all be sitting, biting their nails and jittering nervously at their computers, drinking cup after cup of coffee and refusing to sleep until I update.

That said, I meant to get this up sooner, so I'm sorry for the fatigue-caused delay. If anyone falls into the above category, any fan mail, cookies, or cash donations are welcome, since I'm pretty much broke at the moment. :D

* * *

Catherine glanced at the clock on the microwave as she reached across the wall for the light switch in the break room. The fluorescent _04:03_ blinked back at her, and she made her way over to the fridge, not noticing the two sleeping figures on the couch until she turned around to leave, her bottled, low-fat banana smoothie in hand. Nick and Sara were fast asleep on the couch, breathing deeply and evenly as they leaned on each other, and both looking refreshingly relaxed. Sara's head lay atop Nick's shoulder, who rested the side of his own head on top of hers. Though briefly contemplating waking them up to ask what was going on, Catherine instead crept over to the TV, switching it off with the remote she eased out of Nick's hand. She noticed, where the fabric of the blanket they were huddled under had moved down a bit, that Nick's other hand had its fingers gently entwined with Sara's, resting on her leg. 

Catherine smiled affectionately at her younger co-workers, wondering if there was something going on between them that was either very recent, or that she'd been too busy to notice. She slipped out of the room, switched off the light, and clicked the door closed behind her quietly, almost bumping straight into Greg as she turned to get back to work.

She blinked at him, startled. "Oh, Greg."

"Sorry, Cat. Little case of the midnight muchies." He gestured to the room, grinning.

"Greg, it's after four a.m."

"Well, my internal clock's a little weirded out at the moment. Anyway, this is the first chance I've had for a break since I got in. Grissom's had me on evidence for the Esposito case for the past three hours, and there is a _lot_ of stuff to look over." Sighing exasperatedly, he leaned towards the break room door, wrapping his hand around the handle.

Catherine smiled sympathetically. "So I've heard. Glad I let Grissom take that one." She placed her hand over his on the door handle, speaking quickly as her maternal instinct kicked in. "Uh, listen… Nicky and Sara are in there, fast asleep. Anyway, they've both been a little out of it lately… you mind if we let 'em nap a little longer? I don't want to wake them."

Greg's eyes lit up. "Sara? And Nick? Asleep in the break room together?" He pressed his face against the glass window, peering shamelessly inside. "And they're on the couch?"

"Greg, let it go. They must've been watching TV. It was on when I went in."

"Ahhh." He turned from the window suddenly, staring accusingly at Catherine. "Hey! You got to go in there, but I can't?"

Catherine grinned. "I didn't know they were in there… and anyway, I needed my smoothie."

"And I need my Snickers bars! I've had two hiding behind the paper towels for a week, just waiting for a moment like this." He rolled his eyes at Catherine's expression, grumbling as he turned to walk back to the evidence room. "_Fiiiiine_… on one condition: You make sure Nick tells us _everything_ afterwards. Lucky bastard."

Catherine called over her shoulder as she sauntered off down the corridor. "Keep dreaming, Greg."

* * *

Sara's first thought when she woke up was how agonisingly comfortable she was; she felt like she never wanted to move again. As she opened her eyes and slowly became aware of her surroundings, she also got around to noticing exactly whom she was with, and their physical positions, in relation to one another. More than anything, she couldn't shake the thought of how nice it was to wake up beside Nick Stokes. 

She yawned a little, and turned her head to look up when she heard his voice.

"Morning, sleepyhead." She smiled lazily at his soft expression and rumpled hair.

"Hey." She blinked a little, focusing her eyes. "Oh, I guess I fell asleep on you."

"It's fine. I slept really well, actually." He stroked her thumb with his, and it was only then that Sara realised that he still held her hand, just as he'd done hours ago. "Any scary dreams?"

"Uh, no, not really." A thought suddenly hit her, and she prayed she wasn't blushing as she remembered what she'd _actually_ dreamed about…

"No? That's good."

"Yeah." She reluctantly released his grasp on her hand as she lifted her hands over her head, stretching. Nick couldn't help but think how cute she looked, the wrinkle impression of his shirt on her cheek, and her hair a mess. He'd always found her attractive, but watching her sleep that night had made him realise something important, that, now he thought about it, he'd been trying to deny for a long time. He absent-mindedly went to stand up to get a glass of water, and was surprised when Sara pulled him back down, laying against his arm once again and mumbling sleepily.

"No, stay here. You're comfy."

"You just wanna drool on me again?" Sara looked instantly horrified.

"I _so_ did not drool on you!" She pulled her face back to examine his sleeve. "Did I?"

Nick chuckled. "No, you didn't. I was kidding."

"Oh, phew. I was ready to just die right now." She lay back against him, and felt him rest his head on top of hers. "Did _you_ turn the TV off?"

"No, actually. I had it muted for the last part of the movie, but I fell asleep before I forgot to switch it off."

Sara suddenly gasped. "Oh, my god, I missed the end of the movie!"

"Relax." He stroked her arm. "I enjoyed watching you sleep more, anyway. And, so you know, it was Stu and Billy."

"Stu _and_ Billy? Yes! I knew it." She pumped her arm triumphantly, a cover-up to her reaction to the first part of his statement. She wasn't sure what had changed between them so unexpectedly, but the way he was looking at her made her feel… awkward, almost, but for all the right reasons. It wasn't that she didn't think of him in _that_ way (if anything, the exact opposite – she'd harboured a little crush in the back of her mind for most of the time she'd worked with him), but she'd just never thought anything would even come _close_ to happening between the two of them. The mere idea of a relationship sent Sara's head spinning, and she felt her instinctual need to run growing into a knot in her stomach. Instead, she forced herself to relax; to be _human_, for once.

"Of course you knew it. You're a pretty good CSI."

"Just pretty good, huh?" She elbowed him in the chest; not looking directly at him made acting normally much easier, though his next comment completely counteracted that.

"Well, pretty, _and_ a good CSI." Nick wondered if he'd gone too far, but was then slightly disappointed when she shrugged it off. He'd have almost sworn that she'd been acting a little more into him that morning, too.

"Uh, thanks." She eased herself off the couch, bracing herself on his knee for support. "My mouth tastes like too much sugar. I'm gonna go brush my teeth." She turned back to him as she walked past the counter. "Hey, we never cleaned the microwave out."

"We'll blame it on Greg." Sara giggled, and Nick felt his pulse run a little quicker. He smiled back at her.

"Back in a sec."

"Okay." As Sara left the room, he stood up, pacing across the floor a few times, trying to clear his head. Grabbing a glass of water, he became aware of the effects of too much junk food combined with no toothpaste, and decided to make a quick stop to clean his teeth, too.

* * *

When Nick returned a few minutes later, he was surprised to see that Sara still wasn't back yet. Worrying that she'd gotten uncomfortable and left or something, he busied himself with cleaning up the coffee table, and was relieved when she came back a few minutes later, with her hair brushed and wearing a different shirt. 

"Nick, you didn't have to do that."

He turned around, folding the sleeping bag as he spoke, teasing her. "Well, I wasn't sure how long you were gonna be in there." His wide smile made his eyes twinkle, and Sara leaned against the doorframe for support, feeling momentarily light-headed.

"Hey, you can't rush dental hygiene."

"Or changing outfits, apparently." He gestured at her turquoise button-down, grinning. "Don't worry, I got pretty much everything taken care of."

"Thanks."

"Sure."

Nick placed the folded sleeping bag on the table, and then turned to Sara, hoping to avoid any weirdness between them. "I haven't slept that well in months, y'know."

"Well, maybe we should sleep together more often." Though she said it with a sarcastic smirk and her trademark raised eyebrow, her forwardness surprised them both.

Nick's expression was smug. "May_be_." He walked to stand beside her at the door of the room, his shoulder up against hers as they surveyed the room together. "You going home now?"

"I have today off, anyway, so yeah. You?"

"Mmm."

Sara sighed dramatically, twisting her head to look at him. "This is the saddest part of any sleepover… the morning after, having to say goodbye to everyone."

"Who said anything about goodbye?"

Staring at each other, the events of the past ten or so hours playing through their minds, Sara and Nick both felt suddenly overwhelmed by the mere sight of each other. They both saw the other go to turn away, then changing their minds and holding the stare, and they knew they had one of two options; to laugh self-consciously and leave as quickly as possible, or to do something about the profusion of undeniable sexual tension that had hung between them for so long.

It was lucky that they both knew each other so well, because they both knew in a second what the other would do, and they both knew they wouldn't mind at all. They were suddenly kissing, in the neon glow of the lab's light bulbs, in the middle of the break room, where anyone could see. Neither of them was thinking straight enough to remember how it even happened, but as long as their lips were colliding, Nick and Sara were satisfied. The fact that their lungs weren't was the only reason for their pulling apart just as abruptly as they had crashed together.

Nick's eyes were bright, his face as flushed as Sara's. "I've been wanting to do that for as long as I can remember, but especially since last night."

Sara grinned exposing the gap between her teeth and tilting her head shyly. "Me too."

"You wanna get some breakfast?"

She slipped her hand into his. "You wanna make s'mores instead?" He grinned coyly at her, before kissing her quickly and leading her out of the break room.

"Your place or mine?"

**Fin.**

* * *

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! 


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